1. Field of the Invention
This invention is related to a wrist support, and in particular a viscous, fluid filled wrist support for use during keyboard operations that require repetitive motion of the hands and wrist.
2. Description of the Background Art
Throughout the United States steps are being taken to improve wrist supports. The increased use of the computer keyboard for data entry throughout the United States has increased the requirement for comfort for those people engaged in repetitive keyboard operations. Many learned journals have cited the potential adverse health effects of "Carpal Tunnel Syndrome" (CTS) that heretofore was not a problem when data was entered manually on sheets of paper and adding machine tapes. The CTS syndrome is a relatively new phenomenon that has arisen as computers and keyboards have become the preferred method of entering data throughout the United States.
Symptoms of the problem include tendinitis, which is an inflammation and swelling of the tendons including the hands, wrists and arms, epicondylitis (tennis elbow) which is an irritation of the tendon connecting the forearm muscles to the elbow joints, and de Quervain's disease which is a form of tendinitis that affects the tendons that are connected to the thumb.
Many employers are taking steps to alleviate the CTS problem with wrist supports. For example, the Social Security Administration of the United States government provides wrist supports to those employees engaged in repetitive keyboard operations.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,125,606 issued to Cassano discloses a wrist support using a foam rubber pad that is stapled and glued to a wooden subbase.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,545,554 issued to Latino et al. discloses a solid hard surfaced support. Further, patent '554 discloses a height adjustment to allow the device to be adjusted to the preferred orientation of the operator to the keyboard.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,976,407 issued to Schwartz et al. discloses a solid, hard wrist support connected by a plurality of mounting brackets to a sub-base. Patent '407 discloses an apparatus to adjust the angle and elevation of the wrist support in relation to the keyboard and the operators desired orientation.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,913,390 issued to Burke discloses a keyboard support with a solid handrest.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,004,196 issued to Gross discloses the use of two pivoting pads independently mounted to support the wrist.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,040,757 issued to Benaway discloses a one-piece laddering device for adjusting the computer keyboard itself.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,072,905 issued to Hyatt discloses a cushioned support for the wrist having a pivotally connected supporting members for the forearm.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,108,057 issued to Dandy, et AL. discloses a wrist support having two independent wrist pads that slide laterally on a railing that is externally attached to a keyboard.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,088,668 issued to Grimm discloses a hard surfaced, solid pad mounted on a cylindrically shaped base to support the wrist of the operator.
None of these previous efforts, however, provide the benefits intended with the present invention. Additionally, prior techniques do not suggest, the present inventive combination of component elements as disclosed and claimed herein. The present invention achieves its intended purposes, objectives and advantages over the prior art devices through a new, useful and unobvious combination of component elements, which is simple to use, with the utilization of a minimum number of functioning parts, at a reasonable cost to manufacture, assemble, test and by employing only readily available material.
Therefore it is an object of the present invention to provide a wrist rest support that relieves carpal tunnel syndrome for people engaged in repetitive keyboard operations.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a wrist rest support that will accommodate to the various shapes and heights preferences of each individual keyboard operator.
It is a still further object of the invention to provide a wrist rest support that allows unimpeded blood flow through the arteries in the wrist, forearms and hands.
It is a still further object of the invention to provide a wrist rest support that functions equally well regardless of the objects of personal adornment that the operator might wear on the wrist, such as watches, jewelry, bracelets, or the like.
It is a still further object of the invention to provide a wrist rest support that can be maintained in an odor free, contaminant free condition.
A final object of this invention to be specifically enumerated herein is to provide a wrist rest in accordance with the proceeding objects and which will conform to conventional forms of manufacture, be of simple construction and easy to use so as to provide a device that would be economically feasible, long lasting and relatively trouble free in operation.
Although there have been many inventions related to a wrist rest none of the inventions have become sufficiently compact, low cost and reliable enough to become commonly used. The present invention meets the requirements of the simplified design, compact size, low initial cost, low operating cost, ease of installation and maintainability, and minimal amount of training to successfully employ the invention.
The foregoing has outlined some of the more pertinent objects of the invention. These objects should be construed to be merely illustrative of some of the more prominent features and applications of the intended invention. Many other beneficial results can be obtained by applying the disclosed invention in a different manner or modifying the invention within the scope of the disclosure. Accordingly, other objects and a fuller understanding of the invention may be had by referring to the summary of the invention and the detailed description of the preferred embodiments in addition to the scope of the invention defined by the claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.